Umar Johnson Disinvited From Anne Arundel Community College

by Jamal Eric Watson

Dr. Umar Johnson, a controversial Black activist and speaker, has been disinvited from speaking at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland after a group of students complained that he espouses anti-gay rhetoric.

Boston College Under Investigation Over Access for Disabled

by Associated Press

Boston College has become more difficult to navigate for people with disabilities in recent years, according to former and current students whose complaints have prompted an investigation into whether the school is violating accessibility laws.

Diverse Docket: Morehead State Unanimous Winner on Appeal

by Eric Freedman

Morehead State University didn’t violate First Amendment rights or commit disability discrimination when it denied tenure to an assistant professor of art history, a unanimous federal appeals panel has ruled.

Study Links Discrimination, Blacks’ Risk of Mental Disorders

by Catherine Morris

New research shows that African Americans and Caribbean Blacks who experience multiple types of discrimination are at a much greater risk for a variety of mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

AAC&U Panel on Recruitment and Retention of Faculty of Color

by Catherine Morris

Even for those colleges and universities that value diversity to the extent that they have a dedicated officer or dean of diversity, problems of inclusion and support for faculty and students of color may still be an institutional challenge.

Putting ABC’s ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ in Context with Black History Month

Diverse Docket: Instructor’s Suit Against Delgado Community College Can Move Forward

by Eric Freedman

A Korean American chemistry instructor can pursue allegations that Delgado Community College denied her a promotion and then terminated her because of racial and national origin discrimination, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Initiative in California Clearing Path to Law School for Underrepresented

Bensimon’s Journey Leads to Advocacy for Equity

by Christina Sturdivant

At the 10th Annual American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education’s National Conference in March, Dr. Estela Bensimon will receive the Outstanding Latino/a Faculty in Higher Education: Research/Teaching (Research Institutions) award.

NCAA to Honor Former Paralympic Winner With Inspiration Award

More Women, Minorities in New Congress

by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The 114th Congress that convenes today will count more minorities and women than ever, although lawmakers remain overwhelmingly White and male in the Republican-controlled House and Senate.

New Mentoring Program Designed to Promote Freshman Retention

Although most colleges and universities have retention plans and resources to ensure its students stay in school, it’s been estimated that as many as one in three first-year college students don’t return for their sophomore year. Among disadvantaged populations, this rate is even higher. Facing a wide variety of problems adjusting to college life, from emotional to academic, it seems that current retention plans have room for improvement.

This is where csMentor comes in.

“CsMentor represents a new approach,” said Steve Wattenmaker, CEO of csMentor. “We want to gather information directly from the student, not just about the student.”

Wattenmaker explained that most retention programs run by colleges and universities are impersonal. Messages are often delivered in large group settings, making students aware of on-campus resources, and students are monitored via data-driven solutions.

“Many individuals don’t seek those necessary services until they’ve reached a crisis point. At this point, the odds are stacked against successful intervention,” said Victor Reinoso, a member of the csMentor advisory board. While existing retention programs tend to intervene reactively, csMentor is focused on intervening proactively.

Beginning during the spring semester of a student’s senior year in high school, csMentor begins sending students Mentoring Interactive Programs, or MIPs, on a weekly basis. Accessible online or through a cell phone, these MIPs take about five minutes to complete and include a short video like “Coping with the BIG Separation” or “Professor Bonding,” followed by a multiple-choice survey of 10 questions. Designed by experts with years of college counseling experience, these questions address four developmental areas: health, social adjustment , academic performance, and academic intention.

Although responses to specific questions are not shared with a student’s family, the student and family will receive a weekly progress report indicating whether there are troublespots in any of the developmental areas. At that point, students and their families can interact with school resources to ensure that the issue doesn’t reach a crisis point.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, csMentor has partnered with the College Success Foundation-DC (CSF) to create a pilot program in which about 100 low-income students were enrolled in the csMentor program. However, instead of sending the progress reports to a student’s family, they’re sent directly to those that work with the students at the College Success Foundation.

“So far, the students are anecdotally reporting that they love the mentoring videos and are participating in the surveys each week. I think it’s a pretty positive initial response,” said Wattenmaker. He added that the results will be evaluated later this fall, and that, if all goes well, CSF could scale up its use of csMentor as soon as early 2013.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Serving as the chief academic officer, the Provost provides dynamic academic and strategic leadership for the university, with broad vision, a perpetual fresh perspective, and balanced judgment and creativity.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The University seeks an exceptional individual who will provide visionary leadership to the advancement division and oversee all aspects of development, the foundation and alumni relations.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Reporting to the Provost & Senior Vice President, this position is responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive enrollment strategy to achieve BGSU’s undergraduate and graduate student enrollment targets, including traditional, transfer, international, and online.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration (SVP) is a key member of the President’s Operating Team, will serve as senior financial and operational strategist for the College.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Tracking data from the 13 Mountain West CTR-IN consortium universities, data analysis, preparation of reports and presentations for CTR-IN leadership and NIH, and coordination of the national CTR Tracking and Evaluation Network for all 5 NIH funded centers.

Historically Black college and university leaders are seeking the means to move their institutions from a model of tuition-dependency to opening alternative revenue streams that will ensure their institutions’ financial future.